Some homes in Perthshire and Angus could go a week without power as work to repair damage caused by Storm Arwen continues.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is encouraging residents in affected areas to seek support with accommodation while engineers work to restore supplies.
SSEN says more than 120,000 homes have been reconnected after 90mph winds battered Tayside and Fife on Friday.
A further 3,100 have had their power supply restored since Tuesday night, but by Wednesday evening 824 properties in Angus and 197 in Perthshire remain off-grid.
In addition, SSEN said it had engineers continuing to make repairs with the hope that homes in rural parts of Kirriemuir reconnecting the main network supply late on Wednesday evening or overnight.
SSEN expects power to be restored to all homes affected by Friday at the latest, as long as no new damage is found.
The utility firm has described the impact of Storm Arwen as a “once in a generation event, resulting in over five times as many faults compared to any previous weather event in the area in the last 20 years.
Vans continue to offer food and drink to affected residents in Kirriemuir and Glenshee.
Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, says he has spoken to SSEN to seek clarity on when the remaining houses in his area will have power supplies restored.
He said: “I have spoken with SSEN in relation to the households in my constituency that are now in their sixth day without power.
“I was assured that their teams are working as fast as is practically possible to restore power to all homes.
‘Horrifying ordeal for those affected’
“Pockets of households in rural areas are still off supply, most of which they are striving to restore by the end of today.
“However, for some areas where the most extreme damage to power infrastructure has been inflicted, power may not be restored until Friday.
“If any customer is without power and is unable to make alternative arrangements to stay with family or a friend, SSEN will reimburse all reasonable costs for alternative accommodation.
“This is a horrifying ordeal for those affected, and anyone who is in need of support or advice can contact my office directly.”
Apology over power cuts
Chris Burchell, SSEN’s managing director, said: “The impact of Storm Arwen has caused catastrophic damage to the electricity network across the north-east of Scotland and is the most significant event we have ever had to deal with in the area in a generation.
“I would like to thank our customers who have shown great resilience, patience and understanding since the impact of Storm Arwen and we fully recognise that urgency of the situation for those who continue to remain off supply.
“I would like to personally apologies to all customers who have been impacted and would like to reassure everyone still off supply that our teams are working extremely hard to reconnect them as soon as possible.
“Whilst our teams continue to make good progress carrying out repairs and restoring power to homes, some customers regrettably face another night without power.
“Due to the extent of damage and complexity of repairs our teams are dealing with, unfortunately restoration times for more remote and isolated communities will extend to later this week.
“We therefore encourage all customers who remain off supply to consider our welfare provisions, which we hope will go some way to help them deal with what remains an incredibly difficult situation.”
